


Fast Times At Altea High

by Die_Melodie



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Comedy, Gay Disaster Keith (Voltron), Gay Disaster Shiro (Voltron), Lotor Is Head Cheerleader, M/M, Team Voltron Are A Bunch Of Nerds, background allura/lotor - Freeform, everyone is a disaster, hints of allura/lance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-23
Updated: 2018-12-23
Packaged: 2019-09-25 13:47:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17122517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Die_Melodie/pseuds/Die_Melodie
Summary: Keith is the new guy at school. Shiro is captain of the football team and almost too awkward to function. Together, they build a robot and fight a cheerleader. That's basically it.





	Fast Times At Altea High

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nasigorengart](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nasigorengart/gifts).



> Merry Sheithmas, Nasi!!! You are an awesome admin and an amazing artist, and I'm happy to have had the honor of making the gift for you. I can only hope you'll like it because this is not quite a fratboy!au, but it should be close enough? I think? It's also more team gen than Sheith. Welp.

The first time Keith sees Takashi Shirogane is two seconds before he gets smacked in the face with a football. The latter may or may not be connected to the fact that Keith stops to stare and forgets to watch his surroundings.

The second time he sees Takashi Shirogane is immediately after the first one, the guy’s concerned face peering down on where Keith is lying on his back in a puddle of mud.

“Oh god, are you all right? Come on, I’ll help you to the infirmary!” His voice sounds like music to Keith’s ears, especially accompanied by all this ringing his ears are currently doing.

He doesn’t have a concussion, which is a relief, but he does end up with a spectacular black eye and a completely ruined jacket from his brief encounter with the only puddle on school grounds. It’s all right, though, because it prompts Shirogane (“Call me Shiro, please”) to shrug off his own jacket and offer it to him. And also walk him to class.

“I haven’t seen you around,” Shiro says with surety, and he is not wrong. “You new here?”

“Just moved from Arizona.” Keith fiddles with the sleeves of the too-long jacket and wonders if it’ll be too forward to ask Shiro to have lunch with him.

“Cool!” Shiro says, like being from Arizona is the height of all his teenage aspirations. “I mean, hot, ha-ha. I mean. Are you in any extracurriculars?”

Keith shakes his head. He’s never been one for clubs, but he’s also not one to miss a chance, so he asks: “What do you recommend?”

“Well,” Shiro gives him a considering look. “There’s the cheerleaders.”

Keith, who has been doing martial arts since he was three, wonders what the hell it is about him that made Shiro think cheerleading.

“Also, um, I’m in the robotics club, it’s pretty cool. And the LGBTQA chapter. And the football team, too. There’s plenty of options.”

The bell rings, and Shiro jumps.

“Oh, sorry, gotta run. See you later, gator!”

Keith watches him take two quick steps in one direction, then halt, swivel around and head just as quickly in the opposite one.

Well, he thinks, it’s a shame the guy is so hot, because so far, he does not seem to be very bright.

***

The next time he sees Shiro is two days later, when he decides to drop by the robotics club. It does sound cool, there wasn’t anything even remotely similar at his old school, and Keith is curious.

Just as expected, he only finds a handful of people in the class. There is Shiro, who waves at him before dropping his pen and disappearing under the desk. There is a short girl in round glasses, and a big guy fiddling with a circuit board that looks tiny in his hands. There is another girl, who looks like she should be out there running the school and terrorizing newbies instead of studying schematics with her tongue poking out. And a bored looking guy who takes a break from watching said girl only to look at Keith and tell him: “Cheerleading practice is in the other building.” And seriously, what the fuck?

“Don’t mind Lance,” the short girl says. “He’s just bitter they kicked him out.”

“I’m afraid both your talents and your personality are better suited for pole dancing,” the big guy says in a horrible imitation of a British accent, and both dissolve into giggles.

“Hey! Not my fault that asshole has a personal vendetta against me!”

“Well,” the girl shoots back, “maybe you shouldn’t have hit on his girlfriend in front of him.”

“I am right here,” the other girl says mildly. Her own British accent sounds perfectly refined.

While everyone is bickering with everyone else, Keith makes way to the empty seat next to Shiro. Who beams at him and leans over to ask: “How is your eye?”

It should be pretty obvious that his eye is still swollen. But Shiro’s interest is sweet, and Keith finds himself beaming back, and proclaiming proudly: “It sorta hurts!”

That’s when the door flies open, and a tall red-haired man rushes in, trailing papers in his wake.

“Hello, class! How are you doing on this wonderful day? Ooooh, I see we have a fresh face! Welcome, Unit 7!”

“That’s just what he calls us,” Shiro whispers, not without pride. “I’m Unit 1.”

It turns out the entire group is already in the middle of a project. Each of them is working on a robot, and most are already at least halfway through. Keith gets the option of joining one of the others or attempting to catch up on his own.

“I’ll do him!” Shiro says immediately, and flushes bright red. “I mean, take him. I mean, share my project.”

By now, Keith is 95% sure Shiro only signed up for this class because it would look good on his college applications, and if he actually wants to build a cool robot, he better team up with the short girl, or the British girl, or the big guy. But he’s also 95% sure Shiro likes him, and he’s human and weak when it comes to broad-shouldered guys with sweet smiles. So he agrees.

***

The project turns out to be quite an ambitious thing.

“Mr. Coran doesn’t know that we are all working together as well,” Shiro says, proudly, while they are walking to the bus stop. “The robots are all going to function independently, but the aim is to have them stackable, you know? So that they could turn into one big robot. I’m doing the head.”

Keith stares.

“What, like Transformers?”

“Better than Transformers,” Shiro grins. “You see, it’s…” And he breaks into an explanation that lasts for a good ten minutes and leaves Keith wondering if he is the dumb one after all, because he can hardly comprehend any of it. Just to think that he was sure Shiro couldn’t string two words together.

A minute later Shiro looks at his watch and says: “I could drive you home, if you don’t mind. I mean, if you want – Oh, no, shit, I can’t: I have football practice. I’m so sorry, Keith. Will you be all right?”

Keith slowly looks around himself, at the perfectly innocent bus stop. The sun is still shining, the birds are singing, and he’s still got 13 years of practicing martial arts under his belt. He decides not to share this particular piece of information yet.

“I’ll try,” he says. “You can drive me home tomorrow, if you don’t have practice?”

“Awesome!” Shiro says. “It’s a date!” Then he fucking high-fives Keith and jogs away, leaving Keith staring after him.

***

Even after the high-five, Keith is pretty sure there is a decent spark between them. So, the next day, he wears his least washed out pair of boxers, and even picks a shirt that his mom insists goes with his eyes.

So he’s a little surprised when, once he says his parents aren’t home and invites Shiro inside, instead of slamming him against the wall like he half-hoped Shiro would, the dude spends five minutes petting Keith’s dog, then pulls a bunch of papers out of his backpack and asks where Keith normally studies.

“We need to catch you up,” he says earnestly, and Keith, in his best boxers and the shirt that’s scratchy as fuck, feels a little bit like screaming.

He does end up understanding the project better, and by the time they are done, he’s almost as enthusiastic about the idea as Shiro seems to be.

***

They fall into a pattern of sorts, where twice a week they meet at his or Shiro’s place to work on their robot. Once a week, on Fridays, the entire group gets together to work on combining their efforts. Keith is still aware that he’s far behind the others, but it’s okay. He’s learning. Step by step, the project is coming together.

He also attends Shiro’s games every time. Shiro is surprisingly good, considering his proneness to tripping over his own feet every so often. Keith has never been a fan of football, and he still isn’t, but watching Shiro out there, strong and fast and brutal, is more than enough to make him see the appeal.

Sometimes, during the most boring classes, he finds himself daydreaming about Shiro tackling him the way he does his opponents on the field, and sticking his tongue down Keith’s throat.

In real life, Shiro gives him a dorky smile and says, “You want a peanut butter sandwich? I made enough for two.”, and it’s simultaneously the most frustrated and the most enamored Keith has ever been.

He decides to talk to Allura, because despite occasional lapses of judgement, such as dating the head cheerleader, she seems to be the most people-savvy of the bunch.

“Shiro _is_ gay, right?”

Allura chokes on her sparkling water and spends the next half a minute coughing.

“I suppose so,” she manages finally. “But aren’t you the one dating him?”

“What?” Keith says. “I’m not.”

Allura squints at him.

“Are you sure?”

“I mean, I think I would know if I was dating someone,” Keith mutters. For one, there would be more making out going on.

“No, but –“ Allura cuts herself off and shakes her head. “You know what? You two can figure it out. I have enough relationship problems to deal with as it is.”

That last part doesn’t sound too good. Keith gathers all of his people skills to ask: “Is everything okay?”

“Not really,” she sighs. “Lotor proposed to me.”

Keith gapes at her, his own issue temporarily forgotten.

“Aren’t you guys a little –“

“Young?” she finishes for him. “Yes. He’s already got his entire life planned ahead – or, rather, his parents have. To be honest, they scare me a little.”

“Oh.” Keith watches her for a moment, her tired eyes and the unhappy twist of her lips. “Do you even love him?”

It takes her a long moment to reply. “I used to think I did. But we don’t even have anything in common any more, except both having grown up in England. I mean, I’d rather be with someone who will talk about superheroes and build robots with me than someone whose parents decided we’ll have good-looking children.”

There is not much Keith can say to that.

***

It takes them another month to finish Voltron (the name is Allura’s idea, and no one is exactly sure what it means.) The robot can’t really do anything cool like shoot laser beams out of its eyes, but it can spin around and raise its robot arms, and walk, sort of. Not very far.

Mr. Coran is just as excited as they all are.

“This is a true masterpiece of the engineering thought!” he proclaims. “An amazing example of teamwork! Look at you all: you’ve come so far! I am so proud!”

On his desk, Voltron quietly beep-beeps in agreement.

“We need to celebrate,” Lance says in a tone that invites no arguments. “Tonight, Vrepit Sal’s, no excuses.”

No one offers any.

***

Evenings at Vrepit Sal’s are always busy, but they manage to snag a booth. Hunk and Pidge are already planning their next engineering project, Allura and Lance are laughing about something between themselves, and Shiro keeps checking to make sure Keith’s milkshake is the right consistency, and that he is not sitting in the draft, and that his shirt is properly buttoned up.

“It’s almost winter,” he explains. “You probably didn’t have harsh winters in Arizona, so – Wait, do you even have winter clothes?”

Finally, Keith grabs at his hand that’s trying to fix his collar, twines their fingers together and doesn’t let go.

That is, until a shadow falls over their table, and a familiar voice says in a posh British accent: “And what exactly is going on here?”

Lotor is standing before them in all his blonde-haired glory, arms crossed, not a single hair out of place, and a scowling expression on his pretty-boy face. He looks like someone just told him cheerleading was a hobby for girls and pussies.

With a startled blink, Allura drops her donut on the plate and wipes her mouth with a napkin before asking coolly: “What do you mean?”

“You never answered my text, didn’t pick up my call, and now I see you hanging here with this bunch of nerds? Canoodling with pole dancing boy? For shame.”

“Hey!” Lance protests, but Allura lays her hand on his in a calming motion.

“First off, I am not “canoodling” with anyone. These people are my friends, if you are at all familiar with the term. More importantly, I told you already that it wasn’t going to work between us. Would you like to hear it again?”

“Don’t be stupid,” Lotor snaps as the others watch the exchange. Shiro’s hand is tense in his. “You know you deserve better.”

“Oh, yeah? Like what?” Lance pushes up from the table and comes nose to nose with Lotor. Well, nose to chin. “Like playing trophy girlfriend to a spoiled rich boy? Newsflash: that’s one thing daddy’s money can’t buy you.”

“Hold on!” Shiro is using his captain voice, but he’s squeezed in the corner of the booth and in no position to do anything as Lotor uncrosses his arms, rolls his neck, and takes a swing at Lance.

Lance goes down, taking half of the stuff on the table with him. Someone screams in the next booth. Shiro jumps to his feet, as does Pidge of all people, but Keith, right next to the aisle, is faster.

It’s all reflexes and very little thought: a couple jabs to the right places, and he’s got Lotor facedown on the floor, forcing his arm behind his back and hissing in his ear: “You touch any of them again, and someone else will have to take over your team.”

Then the diner’s owner is there, and Keith has to reluctantly let go.

It takes a few minutes to sort things out. Despite not being the ones to initiate the fight, they are still asked to leave, and everyone pours outside, still a little shaken up. Hunk is fussing over Lance’s split lip. Allura is swearing under her breath. Pidge is staring at Keith like he’s grown a second head.

With a clap of his hands, Shiro takes over.

“Does anyone need the ER? Help getting home? Allura, do you think he’s going to go after you?”

“No,” she shakes her head, looking grim but not scared. “He is a coward, and he values his precious reputation too much. And if he tries to get his parents involved – well, my father is the mayor. They can try.”

She offers to drive the others home, but there is not enough room in her car for everyone. Keith and Shiro are left walking to the bus stop.

“What you did there,” Shiro says, “that was – wow. I had no idea you could do – whatever it is you did.”

Keith sends him a crooked smile.

“I have hidden depths.”

They come to a stop at their destination, looking at each other.

“I feel kind of stupid now,” Shiro scratches the back of his neck. “For being all, you know. Protective of you.”

Keith grins and steps closer.

“I don’t know, I thought it was hot.”

“Oh, yeah?” Shiro manages, still flushing a little. “Well, I think you are hot.”

“So kiss me,” Keith says.

And that’s when Shiro tackles him the way he does his opponents on the field, and sticks his tongue down Keith’s throat. And they keep kissing until their bus arrives, and after it’s left, too.

THE END


End file.
